An Introduction to Contemporary International Law

A Policy-Oriented Perspective

Lung-chu Chen

Applies the New Haven School approach explaining discrete aspects of the global decision process and their effects on the content of international legal norms

Provides an in-depth treatment of the key features of the New Haven School of international law

References both classic historical examples and contemporary events to illustrate international legal processes and principles

Focuses on important trends in international law, including the movement from a state-centered system to a people-centered one

Contributes to the development of a world community of human dignity through international law

New to this Edition:

Spotlights seven features that characterize the New Haven School approach to international law: participants, perspectives, arenas of decision, bases of power, strategies, outcomes, and effects

Covers major developments in international law since 2000

Provides a new generation of students with the interest and the intellectual tools needed to participate as responsible members of a world community based on the notion of human dignity for all people

Offers a more detailed analysis of international agreements in relation to domestic law and U.S. constitutional principles

Includes a new chapter exploring the vital role individual responsibility plays in the emerging field of international criminal law

An Introduction to Contemporary International Law

A Policy-Oriented Perspective

Third Edition

Lung-chu Chen

Description

An Introduction to Contemporary International Law: A Policy-Oriented Perspective introduces the reader to all major aspects of contemporary international law. It applies the highly acclaimed approach developed by the New Haven School of International Law, holding international law as an ongoing process of authoritative decision-making through which the members of the world community identify, clarify, and secure their common interests. Unlike conventional works in international law, this book is organized and structured in terms of the process of decision making in the international arena, and references both classic historical examples and contemporary events to illustrate international legal processes and principles.

Using contemporary examples, this Third Edition builds on the previous editions by contextualizing and dramatizing recent events with reference to seven features that characterize the New Haven School approach to international law: participants, perspectives, arenas of decision, bases of power, strategies, outcomes, and effects. This new edition highlights cutting-edge ideas in international law, including the right to self-determination, the evolution of Taiwan statehood, the expanding scope of international concern and the duty of states to protect human rights, the trend towards greater accountability for states and individual decision-makers under international law, and the vital role individual responsibility plays in the emerging field of international criminal law. It offers a new generation the intellectual tools needed to act as responsible citizens in a world community seeking human dignity and human security for all people.

An Introduction to Contemporary International Law

A Policy-Oriented Perspective

Lung-chu Chen

Table of Contents

Preface to the Third Edition Preface to the Second EditionPreface to the First Edition

Part One / Delimitation of the Task1 International Law in a Policy-Oriented Perspective

Part Two / Participants2 Nation-States3 International Governmental Organizations4 Nongovernmental Organizations and Associations5 The Individual

Part Three / Perspectives 6 Minimum World Order and Optimum World Order

Part Four / Arenas 7 Establishment of and Access to Arenas of Authority

Part Five / Bases of Power 8 Control over Territory9 Control and Use of the Sea10 Control and Use of Other Resources11 Control of People: Nationality and Movement12 Protection of People: From Alien Rights to Human Rights13 Vertical Allocation of Authority14 Horizontal Allocation of Authority

Part Six / Strategies 15 The Diplomatic Instrument16 International Agreements17 The Ideological Instrument18 The Economic Instrument19 The Military Instrument

Part Seven / Outcomes20 The Intelligence Function21 The Promoting Function22 The Prescribing (Lawmaking) Function23 The Invoking Function24 The Applying Function25 The Terminating Function26 The Appraising Function

An Introduction to Contemporary International Law

A Policy-Oriented Perspective

Third Edition

Lung-chu Chen

Author Information

Dr. Lung-chu Chen is an internationally recognized scholar and Professor of Law at New York Law School, specializing in international law, human rights, and the United Nations. He previously served as Research Associate, Senior Research Associate, and Senior Research Scholar at Yale Law School. He received his LL.B. with first-place honors from National Taiwan University, his LL.M. from Northwestern University, and his LL.M. and J.S.D. from Yale University. While still a junior at the National Taiwan University, he ranked first of some four thousand participants in Taiwan's national examination for judgeship and other high governmental posts-a unique distinction in Taiwan's history. He is founder and chairman of the Taiwan New Century Foundation (a think tank), founder and president of the New Century Institute (New York), and charter president and honorary president of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance (TAIUNA). He is a board member of the Policy Sciences Center, a former president of the Taiwanese Society of International Law, and a former national policy adviser to the president of Taiwan.

Formerly he was also chairman of the section on international law of the Association of American Law Schools, a member of the executive council of the American Society of International Law, a director of the American Society of Comparative Law, and a member of the editorial board of its journal (American Journal of Comparative Law). He was chief editor of Human Rights, published by the American Bar Association Section on Individual Rights and Responsibilities. In addition, he served as vice president and a member of the governing council of the International League for Human Rights and president of the North America Taiwanese Professors' Association. He was a principal lecturer at the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, a training center for human rights experts founded by Nobel Peace Prize winner René Cassin.

His publications include Membership for Taiwan in the United Nations: Achieving Justice and Universality (editor), An Introduction to Contemporary International Law, Human Rights and World Public Order (with Myres S. McDougal and Harold D. Lasswell), and Formosa, China, and the United Nations (with Harold D. Lasswell). In addition, he has written and edited numerous books and articles in Chinese. Currently he is general editor of a series of books relating to the U.N. system published under the auspices of the Taiwan Institute for U.N. Studies, a project of the Taiwan New Century Foundation. He is also editor in chief of New Century Think Tank Forum, a quarterly in Chinese published jointly by the Taiwan New Century Foundation and the New Century Institute.

An Introduction to Contemporary International Law

A Policy-Oriented Perspective

Third Edition

Lung-chu Chen

Reviews and Awards

"In the third edition of this most welcome and important book, Professor Lung-chu Chen enhances his already well-established reputation as a scholar in both the United States and in Asia. He applies a deep understanding of the policy science approach to explain contemporary international issues and the law that addresses them. His knowledge and ideas have importance for a wide variety of audiences." -Dame Rosalyn Higgins, Former President of the International Court of Justice

"Lung-chu Chen, distinguished international legal scholar and leading exponent of the New Haven School's approach to international law, offers a policy-oriented perspective on the process of international law that is as rich in detailed review of trends as it is in their critical appraisal in terms of human dignity goals. Professor Chen's book will be an indispensable text for students and scholars and the vade mecum for practitioners and diplomats." -W. Michael Reisman, Myres S. McDougal Professor of International Law, Yale Law School

"In his third edition of An Introduction to Contemporary International Law, Professor Lung-chu Chen has again produced an illuminating account of contemporary international law from the perspective of the New Haven School. This edition is fully updated, replete with examples drawn from topical events and placed in the political and social context of globalization. Current trends on institutionalization, the role of individuals, of civil society, human security, and many others are explored with rigor and freshness. This book is a must-read for scholars and practitioners of international law and relations." -Christine Chinkin, Professor of International Law, London School of Economics and Political Science

"The third edition of An Introduction to Contemporary International Law is a remarkable rarity, a masterfully updated overview and organization of international law in terms of a Realist-type process orientation and categorizations developed by the New Haven School of International Law. This unique and acclaimed work is a necessary addition to an adequate international law collection and will continue to guide numerous students and practitioners of international law." -Jordan J. Paust, Mike & Teresa Baker Law Center Professor, University of Houston Law Center